In 1995 PC Flowers & Gifts Broke New Ground

He made $5M on the web in 1995!

Stamford, Connecticut: Bill Tobin has always risen to a challenge. He's always been an entrepreneur. When FTD Florist told him to go away, he began looking to find a way to take over. He said, "I had to do it. I had to do it. Everybody said it couldn't be done. Everybody said, `It won't work.' "

When this episode of the show was taped, Bill Tobin was selling more flowers than any one person in the world. He started PC Flowers and Gifts in 1989 and by 1996 he had become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in cyberspace. Though he sold the business to Figis, he continues to leverage his knowledge with strategic cyber partners throughout the world.

Among other things Bill established over 2,700 co-branded web sites. In 2000, Bill was awarded a patent for web co-branding protocols.

Know Your Tolerance for Risk

1:59 | Play Now | The size a business grows to is related to the amount and type of risk the founder is willing to take.

This Highly-Successful Commercial Website Changes The Business Model

Step Out Ahead of the Crowd

2:09 | Play Now | Florists were very slow to embrace online ordering so it turned out to be a non-florist who pulled the entire industry onto the web.

Work Smart To Earn Online Customers

2:30 | Play Now | Online customers are even more demanding than those who can look you straight in the eye.

Deliver Value Pricing and Gold Service Online

2:55 | Play Now | Sue England is one of the top notch, hand-picked florists who is able to meet the high service standards set by PC Flowers.

Understand Your Customer

3:09 | Play Now | Keep customers coming back by surprising them which how much they get for a reasonable price and nearly no effort.

Learn from Your Childhood

1:42 | Play Now | Bill Tobin says he knew early in life that he wanted to work for himself. Like most of us, he got his first business loan from his Mom.

Face Down the Establishment

3:27 | Play Now | Bill Tobin explains how hard it was to break into an established industry with a fresh idea.

Execute Near Perfection

1:40 | Play Now | Customers doing business online expect ordering to be quick and easy.

Modify Your Philosophy

2:39 | Play Now | The founder explains to host Hattie Bryant that he had never taken partners until he got involved with the Internet. He insists that the web is one huge partnership.

Keep Your Job

2:47 | Play Now | Bill Tobin points out that starting and running a business is harder than it looks.